Shattering: The Prophesied Fall of the Dark Lord
by Sunset Moth
Summary: AU This mostly revolves on Harry killing Voldemort before he steps into Hogwarts and unlike canon Voldemort is not going to come back. It spans more or less ten years, and follows the characters from England to Bulgaria to India. punk bandit
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own this.

Chapter 1

"Life is full of infinite absurdities, which, strangely enough,

do not even need to appear plausible, since they are true."

-Luigi Pirandello

Albus Dumbledore stared at the piece of paper in front of him. His brow was furrowed with weariness. He knew he held in his hands a prophecy to end the darkness that had almost eclipsed England these last ten years. But how to decipher it? Who could he trust with such words?

Mentally, Albus reviewed the list of the top members of the Order of the Phoenix. On a perch beside him, Fawkes trilled, fluttering his fire-lit feathers as if trying to help.

Madame Pince would be able to figure the prophecy out, Albus thought of Hogwarts' quietly brilliant librarian. He'd ask for her help in a minute, but he knew Irma detested anything remotely connected to Divination, after a prophecy involved her older sister as a key player in the last war against Grindelwald. Eighteen-year old Olivia Pince did not survive.

The only other wizard and witch Albus knew would be intelligent and discreet enough to be entrusted with this information was Severus Snape--and Lily Evans Potter.

Albus tapped his wand on a blank letter embossed with a phoenix, its wingspan extended. "Lily," he whispered into the balmy night air. After several minutes, the fire turned green, and Lily Potter stepped out.

"Headmaster," Lily said in greeting, a smile lighting up her face and making her green eyes shine brighter.

Albus nodded, gesturing for her to sit. It has only been a couple of weeks after Lily's marriage to James, and Albus still thought of her as Lily Evans, the quiet muggle-born with a surprisingly quick mind. Without a word, Albus pushed forward the piece of paper.

Lily raised an eyebrow before swiftly scanning the rough parchment.

Twice came the peal of the trumpet

Twice came the ring of the bell

Twice cried the hart in the darkness

That the phoenix fought to quell

When the seven vessels are broken

By the snake and the wolf dispelled

Shattered by mother, shattered by child

Twice came the ring of the bell

And Nirvana to the darkness dwelled

Lily repeated the words over and over under her breath. "Well, the reference to the Order of the Phoenix is obvious. And the wolf is probably Remus. But if that is so, then the other animals also refer to people. The snake, the hart..." Lily gasped softly.

"What is it, Lily?" Albus asked gently.

"I cannot tell you the reason but the hart refers to James." Lily refused to meet Albus' twinkling eyes.

"And the snake that is working for our side is logically Severus," Albus finished.

"But it still isn't clear!" Lily bit her lower lip in frustration. "These instruments! And the vessels! Are they connected to You-Know-Who's defeat somehow? And what is this Nirvana?"

"I didn't expect you to decipher everything in an instant, child." Albus smiled down at her. "The library is open to your perusal. I ask only that nobody learns of this. Not Sirius nor Remus. Not even your husband. Learn the words by heart, because neither of us would ever see them written down again."

Lily nodded, her eyes shadowed. It wasn't the first secret she kept from James Potter.

Since Lily's first encounter with the prophecy, she and Dumbledore had written to each other when they believed they found out an important detail. One month later, they felt they had something concrete to work with.

Albus ordered a meeting inside his office. He called Remus, Severus and James through Fawkes, whose magic could not be tampered with by any outside force. Lily was already sitting there, fidgeting. Albus laid his hand atop hers. Lily calmed down immediately. She trusted this man with her fate. And with the fate of all of England.

Remus and James arrived one after the other. The two were working on combining magical and muggle weapons to use for the war. The NEWT Remus got in Muggle Studies was really paying off, and they had made several prototypes of magical potion bombs, and making a kind of bullet that worked as a net to capture Death Eaters. These hybrids had the advantage of being harder to detect by both muggles and their blood-obsessed enemies.

Severus arrived a couple of minutes later. He had been preparing for class. Lily and Albus were the only ones who greeted him. Severus nodded back solemnly, making him look older as usual. Very few people knew he was two years younger than the rest of his batch, called to Hogwarts by age nine after a huge magical disaster at home. And now he was a teacher at past fifteen, with the responsibility over students older than himself.

Albus offered them tea and biscuits before getting down to business. "Lily and I have been working on a possible prophecy about the fall of our enemy. It involves everyone here right now. So I will ask, first and foremost that whatever is said does not leave this room." He waited for everyone to nod.

"According to this prophecy, there is a way to truly defeat Voldemort. Severus has been trying to discover the secret of our enemy's immortality, because to do so would lead us to the best weapon against him." Albus gestured for Severus to continue.

Severus cleared his throat, ignoring James's smirk. "It has been very difficult to gain the trust of the higher-ups, especially since I am just a new member. But as it isn't that suspicious for someone in the circle to ask about power and immortality, I had a few interesting responses."

"Hurry up," James muttered under his breath. "Get to the point." Remus nudged him with a sharp elbow while Lily glared at him so he subsided.

"Have you ever heard of horcruxes?" The question Severus threw out quieted them all.

Albus took up the thread of the narrative. "Horcruxes are objects of power to which a wizard entrusts a piece of his soul. A wizard left with a soul incomplete will inevitably turn mad. But as long as any piece of his soul or essence remains, he will never die a true death."

Lily's eyes widened. _That must be what the prophecy referred to as the vessels that they must break._

"The prophecy clearly stated that there are seven horcruxes. And indeed, Severus has heard that Voldemort managed to divide his soul into seven different pieces. And it will be your task to gather and destroy them all." Albus looked deeply into the sober faces of his former students_. They are too young_, he thought. _Much too young for this war. And I am far too old._

One by one, they nodded.

The silence that followed was broken by Lily. "If V-voldemort divided his soul into seven pieces, then there are only six horcruxes. The seventh is in his body."

Severus added, "I have also heard further rumors that some of the objects have been scattered all over the world."

Albus held up a hand. "We need not be dismayed at that news. Voldemort himself traveled Europe and Asia, and therefore most likely left a track for us to follow. Also, while I'm sure our enemy found it wise to scatter some pieces far away, he would also keep a few close by." Albus nodded at Severus. "The prophecy did not give a time table, so above all act prudently."

Lily began to fidget again, and started when Albus called her by name. "Lily, why don't you start on the rest of the prophecy."

Lily smoothed her skirt while she gathered her thoughts. "The words of the prophecy were vague but mostly it talked about James and me." James blinked in surprise. Lily blushed. "It talked about our child."

Remus looked back at Albus' face before returning to Lily's. "Yes, I did hear of another prophecy up in the North that a child will be the one to defeat the Dark Lord."

"This one was much clearer and more believable in that respect," Albus interrupted. "_All of us _will defeat Voldemort by destroying the vessels of his essence. Perhaps the child will strike the final blow, perhaps not. But we must not take chances, so James and Lily will leave the continent as soon as they are able. And they will have to train their children much earlier."

James grasped his wife's hand. "I guess that means we should have as many children as possible." He tried to make his voice light.

Severus snorted. "It means you should take every precaution possible. Perhaps we could arrange for emergency portkeys when the children are born, and your contact should also be limited to a few people."

Albus nodded. "That's a very good idea. Remus would be your contact person, and he could pass on whatever information to and from Severus. In the meantime, Lily should try the archives for newspaper clippings about Voldemort. We might discover the most likely place he would deposit a horcrux."

"Are there ways to detect it?" James asked, his mind churning with ideas.

"It has a very distinct nature, and I believe we would feel Voldemort's presence instantly once we are near it," Albus stated calmly.

"I wouldn't be too sure, Headmaster," Severus interrupted softly. "The Dark Lord has a commanding presence, but he also has his subtle ways. I would think that he'd hide pieces of himself in ordinary, everyday things. They will probably be corrupted, but his touch is not always immediately evident."

"Then I'm sure James and Remus could cobble together something before they leave." Albus raised an eyebrow, which had everyone nodding, deep in thought.

The discussion lasted deep into the night until morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own this.

Chapter 2

"A wild, dark flower of woman, deep rose of my desire,

an eastern wizard made you of earth and stars and fire."

-C.G.D. Roberts

Two months later, James met with the Marauders in the Leaky Cauldron.

"I can't believe you're leaving, mate," Sirius complained. "We're in the middle of a war after all. People will think you're running away or something."

"Let them think that," James smiled at his friends. "You guys know we need new magical technology. We have no other way of winning otherwise."

Sirius made a face but didn't say anything more. He was just entering the Auror's Program and he had already heard about the immense pressure on the Department of Innovative Magics to create bigger and better weapons.

Remus slapped him on the back, chuckling. "Just think of it as a delayed honeymoon."

Peter was quietly sipping on his butterbeer. "I've never been to America. I've always wanted to go there."

James ruffled his friend's light hair. "I'll bring you back lots of souvenirs. I heard they made the best candy."

Sirius flicked firewhiskey at him. "Where's your patriotic spirit, mate? Nobody makes better candy than our dear motherland."

Remus burst out laughing. "You're just addicted to Bertie Bott's."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You'll be back soon, though. Right?"

James smiled. "Of course. America is just over the pond after all."

India was terribly hot and dusty.  
James and Lily stayed close together amidst the crowds. They had taken a muggle flight to America and then they took a series of interconnected portkey jumps until they reached Delhi. They could have gone directly, but they needed to erase suspicion from their friends and to cover their tracks.

James hadn't wanted to lie to Sirius or Peter, but Dumbledore had been adamant that nobody else should learn about their destination. India was big enough to disappear in, but as they would be arriving in the capital, it wouldn't do to invite pursuit.

James tried not to cover his nose against the rising stench of the people and the various vegetables and spices that they were selling. Lily, meanwhile, craned her neck trying to remember the directions of Sriveya Karamchand.

Sriveya had fled India with her mother after her father died. She didn't want to leave, but her homeland was not kind to unprotected women. And her mother was not powerful enough to keep her safe. They arrived in England and Sriveya promptly received a letter from Hogwarts inviting her to join the magical school. Ten years later, and she was working with the Order alongside Remus and James trying to pool different magical concepts and create better offensive and defensive spells. Muggle-born Leonard Patil was on the same team, trying to adapt muggle spyware to their magical needs.

In two month's time, their team had produced ways for them to communicate safely through a normal looking transistor radio with some sort of scrambler attached. They also had a way to return quickly if necessary; both Lily and James sported a bracelet of woven hemp and an opal bead.

Lily saw a sign at the corner of the market with some weird linked squiggles. She had tried to learn the rudiments of Hindi, but in between research and brainstorming sessions, there had simply been no time. With a swift glance around, she reached for the wand inside her white robe and muttered a quick translation spell for both of them.

'Ganesha Inn,' the sign now read. At its corner was a crescent moon under a single eye. Sriveya had told her it meant the place welcomed muggles and wizards alike.

Lily herded James along towards the sign, trying her best to ignore the many children holding out their hands for rupees from the two foreigners. She felt her heart wrench, thinking of her own future kids. She couldn't do anything to help them. There were just too many, their faces utterly without hope. They looked like Voldemort's victims back home. Lily shuddered, she knew very well that normal humans could perpetuate such horrors just as worse as Voldemort's.

The inn was a breath of fresh air after the crowd outside. It looked deserted, but there was a young lady at the counter, her brown skin accented by the jewel tones of her green sari, and the golden hoops that hung from her ears.

"May I help you?" She asked them in accented English. It wasn't the result of the spell as Lily could read her lips.

James took charge, asking for a room and paying for their stay for a month. They had large sacks of rupees in their bags. The exchange rate from galleon to rupee had been difficult to believe. Which was good, because they didn't know when they would be able to return to England. They could stay there for years.

By the end of that first month, they had found a small place of their own further north above a city called Saharanpur. The village was almost at the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains, surrounded by dense forests. Lily wanted to follow the tracks of Voldemort immediately, but James had persuaded her that their first priority was to save the world by having sex. A lot.

Harry Jahan Potter was born about one year after they had moved into their own home. Draupati, the owner of the Ganesha Inn, had recommended the place, and it was beside a small school of Indian magic. It was therefore easy to find a healer. Thus, Harry's birth was relatively painless, instead of the usual muggle travesty as Lily had feared.

Afterwards, even James turned his interest towards the war they had left behind. True to the excuse he had given Sirius and the others, he studied with the Hindu shamans in the school, both to gain insights into different forms of magic and to gain the trust of the Indian wizards they encountered.

Lily chafed a little at being left at home, but she knew she had less chances of earning the shamans' trust than James had. So she spent her days learning a spatter of Hindi and the local Kashmiri from the women while taking care of Harry, and going through the clippings again to see if she missed anything.

Harry was a cheerful baby, and learned English as quickly as he learned the local dialects. He turned nut-brown under the sun and gobbled up the spicy curry and sticky jalebi candy that Lily had learned to cook. He was accepted into the different muggle and magical homes sooner than his parents were. There were few children his age, so he made friends with everyone from the old men with white beards and long memories to the young women who were charmed by his babble.

He listened quietly to the stories the old men told. His favorite storyteller was Shuntab, the head shaman. He had a powerful voice that could make a whisper reverberate inside Harry's head. He talked about the leopards and the tigers and the snakes in the forest, about the elephant god and the goddess with many arms, about the heroes of the old with names like Ramayana and Buddha and Gandhi.

Harry stayed at Shuntab's home so often that he got to know the old man's daughter well, a pretty young lady named Sushmita. She didn't say much while he was around, but he loved to watch her nimble fingers as she embroidered silver elephants and peacock feathers to different-colored saris. She also taught him to read Hindi and to carve on softwoods and clay. She was a witch herself, but women were not taught at the school. Instead Shuntab gave her lessons at home.

After awhile James was able to send to Remus reams of information about rope magic, which the shamans used to bind and to add power to spells through knotwork. They were warming up to him, he knew, largely because of Harry's easy presence among them. Even as Lily and James taught him basics of Latin spells, he was learning about the 'charming' that the shamans did using music, as well as the rope magic alongside Sushmita.

They had given the boy a makeshift wand bought from a seller in the wizard's market in Delhi. It didn't choose him like Ollivander claimed his wands able to do, but James figured it gave Harry a better chance at using other people's wands as effectively as his own. So they alternate the one they bought with each of their own as they taught him. But Harry liked his own wand. It had been made from teak, and contained leopard whiskers and ground python skin.

James wondered at the combination, completely non-magical, yet able to work with Harry's magic. Lily told him that the animals especially in Indian mythology had their own kind of magic. There were many snakes around the village, and they responded well to the pipes of the shamans. Harry learned to charm a snake by the time he was five years old. He didn't let on that he could talk to them years before. His mother never seemed to be comfortable around them.

Lily discovered she was pregnant with her second child not long after. That was when she realized they had been there for so long: six whole years. Remus had reported that the small skirmishes continued to wage between the Order and the Death Eaters. The werewolf clans in Ireland and up near Sweden and Finland were being courted by Voldemort's men, but Severus' invention of a potion to give werewolves control over their beast form had helped to attract the clans to their side. Remus was acting as speaker for the Order while he searched for clues about the horcruxes.

So far, only one had been confirmed. Voldemort's pet snake Nagini was one of the horcruxes that they sought. It was a revelation, this discovery that even living beings can act as a vessel. Voldemort's soul inside her changed Nagini into a vicious yet intelligent creature. But Severus was already working on a way to kill the beast.

Remus also told Lily that he had at least discovered that Voldemort had only scattered two in Asia, two around Europe and two close by. Lily already knew from the clippings that one was in India somewhere, and the other in either China or Japan, the two other countries that Voldemort visited in the past.

One of the shamans had let slip to the Potters about a certain snake that lived up in the mountains. It was an Indian python, one of the few that survived there. But this one was cunning beyond measure and avoided even the best of their magical and physicals traps, even as it sometimes hunted their livestock and occasionally their own children.

"Can't we go see the king snake, mum?" Harry turned his pleading eyes on his mother, who had forbidden him to roam the forests. "Dad will be there, too. Right?"

James was convinced that Voldemort placed his soul into another snake in the Indian wild. He was strapping on one of the prototype detectors he and Remus had been perfecting through correspondence. He watched his wife on the bed. She was just in her fifth month, but he still hated to leave her alone. But he had an idea Harry's snake charming could be augmented by his own magic.

Lily massaged her lower back. "You know I think it's too dangerous, Harry."

"But everyone's gonna be there, mum!" Harry extended his arms like he was holding a huge object between them. "The shamans won't let anything happen to me."

Lily sighed. At almost six years of age, Harry was like a small copy of James: irrepressible, completely optimistic, and infectious in his enthusiasm. She nodded yes, and listened fondly to Harry's whoop of joy.

"I'll keep him safe, love." James kissed her on the forehead as he finished getting ready.

"You better, mister," growled Lily before whispering, "Hurry back."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock..."

- Proverbs 30:19

Harry craned his short neck as he looked round and round the forest. He was sitting around the neck of Feroz, a large man with bulging muscles and one of the best hunters in the village. James was ahead with Shuntab, the highest shaman mage. Harry giggled and pointed here and there as he saw glimpses of the tigers that lived mostly peacefully near the village. He saw other things that he knew the others didn't. The fire salamanders up on the trees, small birds with feathers like camouflage, silver skinned snakes disappearing among the foliage.

The small procession marched on until it was time for lunch. Feroz massaged his neck after Harry had jumped off. The boy had bounced around, his short legs kicking while they walked through the dense forest. He had more energy than the rest of them put together.

Harry jumped into James's arms as soon as his father sat down for the noon meal. They had brought cured meat so they didn't have to waste time hunting for food. Harry chattered in his mixed tongue about the animals.

Shuntab smiled down at the boy. He had picked up a few English phrases himself just to understand half of what the boy was saying. He took out his singing pipe and handed it to the boy just to make him stop.

Harry grabbed the pipe and started playing. Soon the rest of the men stopped to listen. James never ceased to be amazed at the sounds Harry managed to produce from a crude wooden pipe. The melody was high and clear, lifting the spirits of the weary men.

From beneath the shrubs, several miles away, a slumbering creature awoke.

The creature slid into the clearing without disturbing the guards at the parameters or the wards Shuntab had set.

Harry was playing a different tune, a haunting melody that brought tears to the eyes of the villagers. It reminded James of the Irish mourning chants at old-fashioned wizarding funerals.

The creature's coat was not camouflaged but nobody still noticed it until it striked. Within a flash, it wrapped its long body around the intent Harry, whose magic working through his own music brought different pictures inside his head.

An old man in a casket, with the same hair as his father. A mark in the sky over a house, a green skull with a snake slithering from its mouth. A hooded figure, surrounded by others wearing dark cloaks and masks of skulls; at his feet, a large snake lay twined.

Harry opened his eyes only to find himself staring at a snake in the face. It flickered its tongue as if tasting the air. People around him were mesmerized into inaction. James choked out a breath. He had not seen the creature at all until Harry's song faded.

'What manner of creature are you, child, that you sing of death from the hand of my master?' The snake whispered to Harry, its voice low and musical.

Harry gulped, the pipe forgotten in his hands. 'I'm from the same land as he,' he whispered back, unable to break free from its gaze. He had heard stories from his mother about the Dark Lord.

James started at hearing his son hiss. _Parseltongue?_ The ability was rumored to be passed down to the descendents of Salazar Slytherin himself, one of the greatest Dark Wizards ever known and the most powerful of the four Hogwarts founders.

The men around him, even the rarely surprised Shuntab, all drew back. There have been rumors from the oldest men, rumors they did not want to tell the foreigners, about an English man who had come to speak with the snakes a long time ago.

'He left me,' the snake said mournfully. 'He changed me then left me, and I have been lonely for his songs.'

'Don't be lonely anymore. I'm here, now. I'll talk to you if you wish.' Harry automatically tried to placate the snake.

It hissed, as if trying to tell if Harry speaks true.

'I know what you have come for,' it seemed to hesitate. 'I know you are my master's enemy.'

Harry shrugged even as the snake's body coiled tighter and tighter around him. 'But I am not yours. We don't want to hurt you. We just want to stop You-Know-Who from hurting others.'

The snake hissed and suddenly let him go. 'Follow me, then, child.'

James quickly pointed his wand at the snake, but it ignored him. Harry shook his head at his father, and without a word, scrambled after it.

The men left behind argued whether they would follow or not. Feroz the hunter was the first to start for the boy, following James as he bumbled through the forest to reach his son. Shuntab also left, his footsteps steady and silent. He was surprised and afraid, but no trace of it showed on his face.

The python led Harry towards a small cave, just big enough for him to crawl through.

"Harry, don't," James shouted. "It isn't safe."

Harry smiled at his father. "It'll be fine, I promise." And he took hold of the python's tail and slithered through the cave, like a small snake himself.

James wanted to blast the cave apart so he could enter the opening. But Shuntab held him back. "Your son is the only one who can do this, James."

It took awhile for the Hindi to sink in. But James finally gave in. "Lily will kill me if anything happened."

Inside the rock, the cave opened into a bigger clearing, just enough for Harry to sit up.

The snake circled a couple of rocks in one corner. Harry crawled nearer. Between the rocks was a single egg, slightly smaller than a chicken's with a thin layer of shiny substance.

'My master took it from my clutch and changed it. The other eggs hatched except that one. He said I would be rewarded if I guard it. I have been guarding it a long time.'

Harry looked at the egg. It was vibrating. 'Would you mind very much if we took it?' He asked as politely as he could.

The snake slithered around the egg and did not answer immediately. 'I have been guarding it a long time. Take it then, snake-child. Take it and reward me.'

Harry extended a hand towards the egg before his brow crinkled in thought. 'What would you like as a reward? I don't have many things with me.'

'You have a stick that can put me to sleep,' the snake replied. 'I just want to rest. Can you help me rest, snake-child?'

Harry gulped. 'O-okay.' He took the egg carefully and placed it inside a pouch at his belt. Then he helped the snake to get comfortable in its own nest, and took out his wand. 'I'm very sorry,' he whispered.

'Hush, snake-child. I have been guarding my master's egg for countless summers. I am the oldest of my kind in these forests. It is time for me to rest.' The snake coiled around itself, and waited.

Harry didn't know of any spells to kill painlessly, so he held his wand and chanted the same mourning melody as before, thinking of how old and weary the snake was, and its wish to sleep. Inside his mind, he saw through the snake's eyes as it met a young man with black hair who could speak its tongue. Then it watched as the years passed by, as its young grew old and died, their young growing old and dying, and always it would be left alone to watch over the single egg.

When the song faded, Harry opened his eyes. A mist of light had drifted from the tip of his wand to surround the snake. When it disappeared into nothingness, he knew the snake was dead. Harry ran a finger down its silky head, saying goodbye before he started to crawl out.

James was waiting by the entrance and scooped him up in a big hug. "Circe, you're alright!" He looked like he didn't believe it yet.

Harry hugged back, suddenly having a hard time holding back tears. "It didn't hurt me at all, dad. It's a good snake!"

Then he remembered the egg, and wiggled down from his father's arms. "It gave me something before..." his voice trailed away while he dug through his pouch. With a wan smile, he held out the egg to his father.

James stared at his son's hand. From beneath his coat, the horcrux detector jangled.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 4

"She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;

but I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree."

- Yeats

They took a flight to Japan because it was too dangerous to portkey in Lily's condition. She was barely six months pregnant. They wanted to stay longer in India, to wait until the baby was born, but the villagers had avoided them out of fear.

Before they left, Shuntab gifted an elaborate rosewood pipe to the 'snake-child' as they had come to call him. And Feroz gave him a sharp knife covered in a leather sheath, so he could learn to protect himself. Harry hugged the two men goodbye with reluctance. He didn't want to leave the only home he's ever known.

The women gave them bolts of cotton and silk in brilliant colors, and tin cans of Darjeeling tea. Shuntab's daughter Sushmita gave Harry a small wooden carving of a tiger, looped through a single cord of leather. Harry never took it off, like the hemp and opal bracelet on his wrist.

They arrived in Kyoto, but immediately moved south to find the magical village in Uji. Winter graced the entire village with snow, and Sakura trees peppered the walkways with cherry blossom petals. Harry was fascinated by the snow; he had never seen anything like it in the tropical India, only the tips of the mountains from afar.

The magical district was completely separate from the muggle world. The doorway in between was behind the altar of a small dusty temple in a quiet muggle community. The temple had a complex adverse charm on it. Lily and James met first with a Buddhist priest who opened the doorway for them.

Through the door they entered, a world appeared that seemed to belong to an ancient Japan, hundreds of years back in time. The houses were large and had elaborate gardens. The wizards they met were polite, but not overtly friendly and they dressed in formal kimono robes and over-robes. Sometimes, a horse-drawn carriage would pass by on the dirt-roads, other times it was a palanquin, a litter carried by poles on the shoulders of several men, but there were no cars, not even a bicycle.

The Potters moved into a small old-fashioned home which had a rock garden, surrounded by sand raked into a spiral. The place was quiet, and they settled in without any trouble. While the people didn't welcome them with open arms, they did not question their presence nor ask about their business there.

It was spring of the following year when Lily finally gave birth to tiny Ellis Kurama Potter. The past winter had turned Harry's skin a smidgen lighter. He was almost six and delighted in being a big brother. Ellis had fair skin and light hair, which grew into dark red fuzz, and the same green eyes as Harry's and Lily's.

Ellis was barely walking, however, when they received bad news. Battles in earnest were starting and Peter had disappeared. Remus said he was being assumed dead. James grew frustrated that he couldn't do anything to help, and he became short-tempered around the house.

Lily made him leave to visit the magical towns to meet with people and ask about Voldemort. James started around the neighborhood, but within the next few months, soon started to travel further and further away, to Ueno, Sakurai, and even venturing to Osaka.

Harry soon got used to seeing his father every other week, whenever James brought home some rumors and a bagful of souvenirs. He brought kimonos in different colors and patterns, boxes of sushi that Lily soon fell in love with, a small bell that was supposed to drive evil spirits away that Ellis used as a rattle, and a sword made of bamboo staves for Harry.

"What is this for anyway?" Harry asked his father, while he dipped sushi in the soy sauce and a chunk of wasabi. He had missed the spiciness of Indian food; Japanese dishes were mostly bland and light. His mother was modeling a white kimono with red and green autumn leaves while Ellis clapped from the floor.

James ruffled his son's hair. "Ever heard of kendo?"

Harry shook his head. James began to talk about the samurai warriors of feudal Japan, with their skill in using the sword to protect their lords. "The gym just beside the temple is giving lessons. I saw a poster." They were casting translator spells whenever they were outside. Harry was having trouble learning to speak in straight English and Lily didn't want to add Japanese to confuse him more.

Harry turned his eyes on his mother. "Can I take lessons, mum? Please?"

Lily scooped up Ellis, while she thought about it. "We could check their schedules. You still have to keep up with your lessons, though." She home-schooled him in the basics alongside the magic spells. She didn't let on to Harry but he always managed to surprise her how quickly he grasped the lessons.

James taught him spells, too. But not since he started his explorations. She had been bugging him to try teaching Harry to be an animagus. James looked down at his cheering son, who held up the bamboo sword in the air and waved it up and down. He wondered what animal Harry would be. _Anything but a snake_, he thought, shuddering. He still hadn't told Lily about their son's disturbing power.

That was their routine for the next few months: Harry took kendo lessons in the morning, and his other school work in the afternoon. James snuck in some animagus lessons while he was there. He was chasing some rumors that Voldemort visited the great temples several years ago. Some temples were doorways to the magical areas, but the larger ones were not, so James was visiting them all, and trying to talk to possible witnesses.

By the time Ellis turned two, Harry had successfully changed form. James secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it: Harry's animagus form was a tiger cub, orange and black, like the carved necklace he wore. Still, it made James a bit nervous, especially when he was in his stag form. It made him feel like prey.

Several weeks later, Remus contacted them. He had discovered the third horcrux in France hidden in the Louvre museum inside a jewel on an elaborate Roman-era cross. Remus wasn't able to get to the object because of the tight security in the museum. And Albus had already summoned him home to help in the battle strategies. Things were heating up in England.

James felt like his bones were vibrating with the need to help his friends. When they got word that Sirius was injured in an ambush in Diagon Alley, they had their first major row since they got married.

"This whole thing feels like a wild goose chase! How do we know the prophecy will even pan out? I _know_ I am needed there, Lily. I _know_ I can make a difference." James hissed at her while peeking outside in the garden where Harry was patiently playing with Ellis in the sand, like it was a large sand box.

Lily fought to hold back her tears. "Dumbledore has yet to summon you anywhere, James. That means he still thinks you should be here, with us. _We're_ supposed to be your first priority."

James shook his head. "But there's no danger here, love. You'd be completely safe. And you could probably do a better job tracking down the horcruxes than I've done so far," he pleaded with her to understand. "We're at _war_; the first priority is always to fight for the greater good."

Lily was silent, but James read her acquiescence in her gaze. "Thanks, love. I just really, _really_ need to do this."

Lily looked at her two boys who had created a sand castle that looked suspiciously like Hogwarts. Harry was adding details with his wand while Ellis giggled and clapped.

"I know," she whispered.

Notes: I'm not gonna post another chapter unless I see some reviews. Also, if you want to give some suggestions about the story it will probably be ignored because the story's already finished.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to Firedancer885 who reviewed... Fine, fine, I'll post.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 5

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of terror,

victory however long and hard the road may be:

for without victory there is no survival."

- Winston Churchill

Albus Dumbledore was a man who always had several aces up his voluminous purple sleeves--and a couple of extra in his robe's secret pockets just in case.

The Order of the Phoenix was seen by the general population--the few that have even heard of it--as a mere ragtag group of vigilantes, occasionally allied with the Ministry of Magic but usually working outside it. Their resources seemed limited, and they didn't have the approval of the wizarding world to go as they please.

But despite his reputation, many underestimated Albus Dumbledore, thinking him a mere aging glory-hound. Nevertheless, he managed to rally to him several different sympathetic groups that have been formed during the period of chaos.

One of them was the Poxes, a group of half-blood wizards and witches who were poor or even homeless after the rest of the wizarding world shunned them for being 'filthy' or 'easy targets.' Some of them were Hogwarts students who dropped out because they were afraid, or because they couldn't afford to stay.

Albus made allies among them by offering them small jobs in Hogwarts and through the other Order members. He also allowed an old property of his somewhere northeast to be used as a home. The old manor was large enough for all of them, and the grounds sufficient enough to be farmed for their food.

Other groups--outcasts of society such as werewolves and hags, even gangs of street children, as well as some small business men who wanted to help secretly--also contacted Order members to ask for and to offer help.

Added to the top minds of his former and current students, and brilliant professors in his employ, Dumbledore had a formidable army indeed.

Remus shook his head while reading reports inside his nearly bare room. Nobody but Dumbledore even knew them all, the spies in their employ, the people supplying their projects, the places where they trained their recruits in dueling or in undercover work. Sometimes, Remus felt more and more like a tiny cog in an elaborate gigantic clock ticking down in slow-motion towards That Day.

But it was coming. Slowly, messages were trickling towards the far reaches of Europe, calling on werewolf clans in Ireland and Finland and half-giants in Africa. Their contacts in the ministry were also bringing in groups of specialized French and Spanish agents, overtly following ministry orders but also aware and loyal to the Order. Dumbledore's reputation spread far and wide.

Remus blinked down at the parchment in his hands. A French agent had replied to his request a couple of weeks ago regarding the horcrux. 'Got it. Will send jewel over as soon as possible.' He smiled sadly. If only Peter were around to see what was going on. His missing friend had been becoming more and more pessimistic about the war efforts just before he disappeared. Something twanged in Remus' head, a thought that he immediately denied and repressed.

Never mind that. Remus tried to focus on the future instead of his gloomy thoughts. Things were beginning to happen. The headmaster's plans were coming to fruition. And they only had three more horcruxes to track down.

Albus had told them not to destroy the things immediately. The Dark Lord was still somehow intimately tied to the pieces of his soul and would know at once if one of them ceases to exist. But he was theoretically unaffected by the objects being moved, since they were already scattered so far.

Remus thought about a way to protect the jewel yet keep it close. Perhaps he could ward it through knots like what the Indians could supposedly do. He could wear it as a necklace, while letting the cord itself keep it and him safe.

He shuffled through the other notes on his desk, trying to find the ones on rope magic that he received from James. After he could ward it, he could concentrate on finding the other one. Severus had told him that the two other horcruxes that they were seeking were hidden by the Dark Lord's two most trusted supporters: Lucius Malfoy and Igor Karkaroff. Since Igor was now a professor in the Wizarding school in Bulgaria, that was where Remus was headed next. Snape was going to shadow Malfoy for hints of the remaining object.

Someone knocked at his door. Remus looked up in distraction. He wasn't expecting anyone, so his jaw practically dropped open when he saw the person on the other side.

"Moony!" James launched himself at his friend, his blinding smile making him look even more dark-skinned. Remus could only hug back. James was still lean, but there was something different in his eyes.

"Fatherhood seemed to have agreed with you," Remus stated as he pushed James away to look him over. His childhood friend was dressed in light canvas pants and a simple white shirt, quite unlike the embroidered jewel-toned robes he used to favor as a teen.

James looked down at himself shyly. "Yeah, Harry and Ellis have taught me more than McGonagall has ever done. And not just how to change nappies and the like."

Remus took James by the arm and pulled him inside. They spent the rest of the night talking about India, Lily, his sons, Peter, Sirius' injury and the situation back home.

"So what are you doing back so soon, anyway?" Remus asked when the conversation lapsed for a few minutes. He could barely keep his eyes open.

James just smiled at him with a hint of his old mischievous ways. "Do you even have to ask, Moony? I've come home to fight."

Lily looked up from the notes her husband left behind. "Mum, is there something I can do?" Harry softly asked from the doorway.

Lily smiled at her almost nine-year old son. "You just mind your brother, alright? Thanks, dear," she replied distractedly before diving right back into James's nearly illegible handwriting.

She had to work on something so her mind would not be plagued with worries about the battles back home. More than a year had passed, and Ellis was already three years old. But still the war waged on all over Europe in small skirmishes. Remus and James were now both contacting her through the radio to give her updates, but they told her to expect more time in between calls as soon as the battles start in earnest.

It helped Lily's studies that the notes her husband left behind were fascinating. James was convinced that the object was in a temple somewhere, as he chronicled young Voldemort's pilgrimage to all the Buddhist temples in the area. And Lily remembered clearly the mention of Nirvana in the prophecy that she helped to decipher. Her research told her it was a Buddhist concept of heaven that follows self-sacrifice. It was sketchy but still strengthened the connection to Buddhism.

Now the only problem was whether Voldemort picked a major temple, or a minor, nearly forgotten one to hide his essence. And what object he would place his soul inside? Would he put it in an actual statue of Buddha? Or another object commonly found inside a temple? Lily rubbed her eyes as she went through the list of possibilities. None of the witnesses James interviewed were really helpful. They were still used to the policy that outsiders and foreigners were not to be trusted.

Lily would have to see them for herself. She thought about the tiny snake egg locked and warded inside her jewelry box in her dresser, and shuddered. Despite her interest in finding the horcrux, she was not looking forward to being in the presence of another piece of Voldemort's soul.

In the kitchen of their small home, Harry stirred the saucepan with his tiny hand holding a wooden spoon and sighed. He wished his mother would snap out of whatever obsession she was in soon. He really missed _not_ cooking his own dinner.

Harry sighed some more as Ellis began to cry from his playpen. He covered the chowder, and stepped off the stool. His little brother probably needed to be changed again.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry P. Not mine. Never was.

Chapter 6

"Those who have few things to attend to are great babblers;

for the less men think, the more they talk."

- Montesquieu

"Severus Snape," Lord Voldemort's sibilant voice echoed in the chamber, "how goes Dumbledore's plans?"

Snape bowed to his second master. "There have been rumors that he has started calling in his allies, milord. Many people come and go at Hogwarts to confer with him."

Voldemort nodded. Other spies at Hogsmeade and the ministry confirmed that information. But it was not enough. "Give me some names, my snake. And how many there are?"

Severus bowed even lower. "Everybody I asked gave different answers, milord. Dumbledore is said to be the only one who knows for sure. As for names, I saw there Carthwright and Longbottom, and others he has called home from their assignments abroad."

The Dark Lord's eyes glowed red with anger. "We can assume they either brought with them additional allies, or different magics." He stood up from his chair at the dais and addressed his people. "We must prepare for anything, for everything. Lucius, has the deal with the dementors been accepted yet?"

Lucius bowed beside Severus. "Not yet, milord. They are demanding more while the talks continue."

"Promise them everything they want, you fool." Voldemort's features tightened briefly. "Make sure they accept before the week is out. You do not want to displease me, do you Lucius?" His tone became softer and more dangerous.

"No, milord," Lucius murmured.

Lord Voldemort turned to the rest of his cowering minions. Things were coming into fruition at last. He absently stroked the head of his familiar, Nagini while he barked orders at the shadow-cloaked wizards and witches bowing to him.

With the dementors by their side, the prisoners of Azkaban would be released, and their ranks would be swelled. Dumbledore and his foolish Order would be trampled under his feet. Voldemort smiled, imagining himself crushing the skull of his greatest enemy.

At his feet, a small rat crouched inside a cage. Nagini was playing with it, her tail wrapped around the base of the cage. The rat was being punished for giving wrong information as to the whereabouts of James and Lily Potter.

Lily had taken Harry and Ellis with her on her trip, the latest of many. She was getting a bit desperate, because Harry was almost ten and she knew they had to return to Europe for his education next year.

Their home already had a growing collection of books about the great Buddhist temples. From them, she found out that the biggest statue of Buddha was on display in Nara in a Todai temple there, dating from the year 752.

She also read about the Omizutori, a central rite in the Buddhist religious calendar, that was conducted each year in early spring in this temple, just after Ellis' fourth birthday.

So, on a pretext of being tourists, she joined the crowd inside the seven-story pagoda watching as a visiting Indian high priest consecrated the Buddha while other foreign musicians played a slow and solemn tune.

Afterwards, Harry wanted to meet the Indian priest, but Lily wouldn't let him so he sulked while they went through the rooms to see the other artifacts on display. The temple was now apparently used as a museum.

She carried Ellis and dragged Harry by the hand as she examined the paintings, sculptures and jade statues under the glass. While she was distractedly peering into a realistic-looking turtle in another display, Harry saw the Indian priest in front of the giant Buddha. So he wrenched his hand away from his mother and ran past the wandering people down the stairs to where the Brahmin was standing.

Harry was panting by the time he tugged at the Brahmin's faded orange robe. "Excuse me," he said in Hindi.

The Brahmin was surprised to hear his native tongue so he turned and looked down at the tiny English boy.

By the time Lily was able to catch up, Ellis still in her arms, the boy and the priest were deep in conversation, while the rest of the Japanese were just watching them curiously. Lily didn't want to interfere, so she listened and tried to catch the tail-end of the conversation.

"It's very big," Harry commented about the statue.

"Yes," the orange and white-robed man smiled. "It is the biggest bronze statue in the world. Many Buddhists journey from India and Pakistan to see it."

"Does Buddha really look like that?" Harry gazed up at the serene face.

The priest chuckled. "Nobody really knows for sure, young one. Some statues of Buddha show him as a bald and fat man with Chinese features. It depends on the nationality of the believers."

"So that's why it has Japanese-looking eyes? It doesn't look Indian at all."

"Yes, I suppose not." The priest looked thoughtful.

"Like Jesus doesn't look Arabic," Harry supplied.

The priest just laughed. Lily was about to interrupt when Harry asked another question. "Where is Buddha's most powerful point?"

The Brahmin looked surprised once more. But after a second's thought, he merely answered, "The source of Buddha's greatness lies in the middle of his forehead, in that small dot there between his eyes," he pointed it out to Harry. "They say that a point of light blazed right in that spot when Buddha gained enlightenment."

Harry rubbed the same spot on his forehead. "Does enlightenment hurt?"

The man nodded solemnly. "Yes it does. Because it changes you from inside out."

"Mum!" Harry exclaimed, seeing his mother watch them. He dragged Lily to meet the Brahmin, who introduced himself as Vyasa.

"I'm sorry about my son," Lily apologized in rudimentary Hindi.

Vyasa waved it off. "He speaks well and has a quick mind." He bowed to them before turning to leave. "It was a pleasure to meet with you, young Harry Jahan Potter."

Harry bowed, his face flushing with pleasure at the compliment.

After he was gone, Lily was about to scold her son when Harry interrupted. "I think I know where the other horcrux is." He was looking up at the Buddha, right between its eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

Chapter 7

"The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires

is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes."

- Swift

When they got home, a small bronze ball was tucked in Lily's pocket. Ellis was sleeping on her shoulder while Harry was stumbling with exhaustion at her side. She looked down at him, smiling at his messy hair.

He was so like James in many ways. But sometimes, he still managed to surprise her.

_Must be my side of the family,_ Lily thought ruefully. She had never told anyone, not even James, but she had been adopted by the Evans as a young baby. Through her years at Hogwarts, she had tried to discover who her biological parents were.

She did find them in her sixth year, in a large book of genealogy of the highest pureblood families in Europe. 'Lily (Perdue) Evans' it was written at the bottom end of one branch of the Perdue family. Her parents were one Moira McKell, a squib daughter of the Irish McKells and her father Nicholas Perdue, the only heir to the Perdue fortune, acquired through their vineyards and businesses in France. Both her parents were deceased. And Nicholas had another wife and several other children, all residing in France and studying at Beauxbaxtons the wizarding school there.

_So I was a love child._ Lily chuckled at herself. It had all sounded so romantic, until she researched the McKells and the Perdues further at the Hogwarts library. The McKells were a large powerful family that destroyed itself a couple of years after she was born. A couple of patriarchs gambled away their fortune, and the rest of their scions feuded with one another for the remaining lands. They were famed for their skill as duelists, which only served to get them killed by each other faster. There were only a handful of them left, scattered all over Ireland and America, where they immigrated after losing everything they had.

The Perdues, on the other hand, were a small elitist incestuous group, growing even smaller as they kept producing children with disabilities--and killing them off. The family was known for their strict adherence to traditions. They were a lot like the Malfoys, but instead of breeding for beauty as the other line have done, they bred for brains and talent. Their ancestors were pioneers in spell creation and magical artifacts. One ancestor even claimed ties to Salazar Slytherin himself.

Lily shivered. She had been horrified when she discovered that, and vowed never to tell anyone about her findings. She rather preferred to remain Lily Evans, the gifted muggle-born, even though many students teased her about her ignorance of wizarding customs and called her mudblood behind her back. She never tried to contact any of them, not even the McKell who remained in Ireland.

The radio was crackling when she entered the house. Lily placed Ellis in his bed, and led Harry to his, before she took the radio to her room to listen to Remus or James.

It was Remus who greeted her on the other line. Lily was about to ask for updates when her husband's best friend interrupted gravely, "I am sorry, Lily. James was taken in the battle last night. Voldemort has him."

Lily tuned out the rest of his report. She didn't hear Remus talk about their victories, about their success in containing the dementors and Death Eaters, nor the horror they witnessed when the remaining dementors turned on their allies and bestowed to them the Kiss that would suck out their souls. Lily heard nothing apart from the thumping of her heart, and the ringing in her ears.

And she didn't see Harry's face peeking from behind the door, quietly crying.

Severus fell under _Crucio_ several times that night. As did Lucius Malfoy, Igor Karkaroff, Vincent Crabbe and a couple of faceless others cowering under their mask and robes. They were the few that remained after the Final Battle at Hogwarts. Others either surrendered themselves or were killed or had found ways to escape.

Lord Voldemort was frothing at the mouth with rage. His wand struck again and again, red light flowing from it in bursts, until Severus could no longer stand.

They were holed up in what seemed to be a completely innocuous cottage at the bottom of the mountains north of Hogwarts. Inside the rustic and ramshackle house, however, there were several layers of dungeons, holding laboratories and libraries and hoards of dark objects that their young researchers had been 'tinkering with.' Most of them had been the first to die in the battle, including Vincent's younger brother David.

After the Dark Lord tired of his punishments, demanding that his incompetent followers leave him alone in his chambers, Severus followed the others' weary footsteps into their own rooms in the lower floors. At a fork in the hallway, the one he was sure to be Karkaroff turned one way while Lucius chose the other, and Severus was torn which of them he should follow. A chance word at this stage would certainly help, and the beatings they had taken would surely loosen a few tongues from behind the skull masks.

He had hesitated too long, and had no choice but to follow Lucius Malfoy, the man's gait still as graceful as ever, marking him different from the Dark Lord's other followers just as surely as if his long white hair were visible. Whatever Severus believes in about this foolish war, he still admired the older Slytherin's self-possession.

Lucius opened his door, and walked in without looking behind him. Severus hovered by the doorway, so the older Death Eater gestured impatiently for him to enter.

"The dementors were a grave miscalculation," Lucius murmured after he had removed his mask. He reached for a bottle of scotch, and poured the both of them a glassful of each.

Severus accepted his glass with a nod, careful to appear respectful and appreciative in just the right amounts. Among the Death Eaters he has had to fool, Lucius was the sharpest, more dangerous even than Voldemort himself, because their master was too preoccupied with the war to notice the tiny details. Severus found it an interesting if nerve-wracking challenge in restraint and quickness of wit.

"Such creatures have inscrutable loyalties, and would probably not even comprehend the simplest of commands," Lucius continued as if to himself.

Severus murmured in affirmation, settling himself gently in the forest green armchair. His nerve endings still tingled from the Cruciatus he had endured, and the scotch helped a great deal.

"You have been quite useful, Severus, for a young man. Your many talents have been quite unappreciated. I hope, wherever this war leads us, that you have made plans to ensure your survival." Lucius' tone was mocking and slightly inquisitive.

Severus took another sip of the scotch to cover his reaction to the shift in conversation; the burn of the liquid down his throat dulled his pain even as it sharpened his other senses. Was this the same Lucius Malfoy? Practically spouting treason at him?

"If only you have met our master at a younger age, you would be so amazed at the difference," Lucius wasn't even looking at him, but staring far away as if in remembrance. Then he suddenly turned and his gaze pierced Snape's. "He was a lot like you, Severus."

"You are not much older than myself, Lucius," Severus asked with a hint of curiosity. "Have you known the Dark Lord since childhood, then?"

Lucius Malfoy laughed with abandon for a couple of minutes, before turning once again to look at Severus whose face burned in half-real and half-manufactured indignation.

"No, don't be angry, dear serpent," Lucius reassured him with a smile. "I have a secret to tell you. No, better yet, I can show you."

Severus merely quirked an eyebrow, even as Lucius opened a small chest, gesturing grandly. "Behold, the diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle, our master's _saner _half."

Severus eyed the benign-looking book, and quenched the immediate thrum of excitement from showing on his face.

James Potter was surrounded by almost complete darkness. His sockets felt like they weren't even connected to his arms and hands anymore; they were manacled to the walls behind him. His every nerve end felt like it was on fire, from the curse that brought him down and the others that followed it here in this Death Eater lair.

He was rattling his chains restlessly, his mind racing with the need to do something, when a noise in the darkness made him go still. It was a tiny scratching sound, like nails dragging through the pavement.

James held his breath, but he let it out explosively when somebody appeared where there was nothing but that scratching noise. The figure turned towards him and he gasped.

"Peter?" He croaked out, his eyes widening. "What are you doing here?"

The missing marauder looked pale and thin in the light that seeped from a crack in the door. His face and hands sported several scars. He crept forward towards James, whose surprise turned into joy and not a little bit of hope.

"I've come to save you, my friend," Peter was smiling, as his hand reached out like a claw. "Everything will be alright, now."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

Chapter 8

"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.

Books are well written or badly written. That is all."

- Oscar Wilde

Severus found the much-mangled and half-decomposed remains of James Potter several days later at the end of April. He was annoyed to discover himself capable of feeling guilty. He sent word to Remus as soon as it was possible to do so.

Remus and Sirius grieved for their friend by throwing themselves into their work. Sirius was back on duty, on the trail of the Death Eaters who had escaped from the final battle. Remus was already out of England in search for the last horcrux. He could not bring himself to tell Lily the news, so he sent a magical telegram through the wizarding community in Japan.

It was already early May when Lily Potter received the letter, and upon reading it, she went into a rage that terrified Harry because he had never seen it happen. Lily went on a destructive rampage around the house, while Harry took a crying Ellis by the hand out into the garden, casting a silencing charm in a bubble around them.

Harry was worried sick about his mother. He missed his father very much and wanted to be held and comforted, but he knew his mum was incapable of doing that at the moment. And he had to think of Ellis. So he shoved down his grief, and waited out the noises of chaos from inside their house. When it petered out, and he could no longer feel the shocks of magic in the air, Harry cautiously took down the silencing charm.

His brother had fallen asleep on his lap, exhausted after crying so much. Harry laid Ellis gently on a wooden bench that he transfigured into a bed of sorts. Ellis was now four years old, but he seldom spoke, because Lily was prone to long bouts of silence that neither of her sons wanted to break. Harry was the one who taught his little brother his letters, and do little spells with his Indian wand.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, Harry tiptoed inside, only to stop at the door in shock. His mother had collapsed in the living room, her eyes open but unseeing, glazed with grief, while small whimpers escaped from somewhere deep inside her.

But that wasn't what stopped Harry. Right beside his mother's trembling body, beside the broken mirror of her jewelry box, lay the smashed bits of shell of the python egg from India, and the melted slag of the giant Buddha's bronze bindhi.

"Mum, what have you done?" Harry whispered, his hand clutching his wand in fear.

From across the continents, Lord Voldemort woke up from slumber in an animalistic rage. None of his followers could appease him. Vincent Crabbe died under a stray curse, and the others scattered in self-preservation.

When the Dark Lord shouted inarticulately about Japan before disappearing, Severus Snape immediately went back to his quarters to contact Remus.

"It is time, wolf," he barked into the radio disguised as a picture frame, even as his mind considered and discarded plan after plan.

The wolf grunted in reply, "I need the location of the last one, snake. It is difficult to move inside Durmstrang without being seen."

"I will see what I can do," Severus murmured, wondering whether Karkaroff was still in the dungeons with them or he had escaped away already.

But first, he left his quarters and ignoring the scampering and panicking servants and fellow Death Eaters, he strove into Lucius Malfoy's room like he belonged there. The door was warded, but Severus opened it with a prepared magico-technical spell. The lush room was empty.

Severus headed for the chest by the bed. Another pre-planned spell and it was open. The book lay on the velvet lining, thrumming like it knew what he had in mind for it. Severus reached for it, but stopped when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Ah, Severus. You have surprised me, after all." Lucius stated calmly like it was an everyday occurrence to discover a traitor amidst them. "I see I have underestimated your instincts for self-preservation."

Severus had stood up, his back to the wooden chest. A couple of nasty hexes rose in his mind, but he bit them back. "It is always wise never to find oneself on the losing side, Lucius. You, of all, have taught me that." His voice was smooth and calm, like the surface of a lake hiding his fear in its murky bottom.

Lucius inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Then by all means, save the world, my dear serpent."

Severus tried to read the eyes of his old friend and mentor, but found Lucius as inscrutable as always. He set a quick _Incendio_ to the book, and both of them watched as it twisted and thrashed on the floor, its pages turning red before turning black and disintegrating into ashes.

Before either of them could blink, Nagini had slithered into the room and swept Severus up in its thick coils. It wrapped itself around the potions instructor's body and neck, squeezing powerfully for a second, before it took a swift bite into his bony shoulder.

Lucius watched for a second calmly, before he issued a hex that stopped the giant snake, which immediately fell dead in long coils around Severus' feet.

Severus coughed on the floor, trying to get away from Nagini's corpse, and to still the flow of blood from its venomous bite, while he watched Lucius walk away, as composed as ever. Before he turned into the corridor, however, Lucius turned back to Severus, "Karkaroff has fled already, Severus. The last one is supposed to be in the bell."

_How much does the bastard know? And how long has he known it? _Severus dismissed the questions as soon as they entered his mind. Immediately after he regained the use of his vocal cords, he gave Remus the information. Then he apparated into Hogsmeade and collapsed just inside the Three Broomsticks.

Before he lost consciousness completely, a thought entered his mind: it was done.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

Chapter 9

"He is not worthy of the honeycomb

that shuns the hive because the bees have stings."

- Shakespeare

Remus knew immediately what Severus referred to. He had found the Durmstrang castle a forbidding place, surrounded only by rock and sea, situated as it was on the eastern coast of Bulgaria at the top of a cliff. The castle was similar to the Hogwarts in design, but smaller and without the unexpected twists and turns of his old school. Instead, there were traps, hexed and cursed objects and places that students were expected to dodge and dismantle. It made the werewolf's job doubly difficult.

In addition, the school also had much larger hallways that were supposed to reverberate with the noise of the giant bell from the topmost tower: The Bell of Agrippa, the school's single great founder hundreds of years ago.

Remus had never heard the bell ring in the short weeks he had stayed nearby. But he had read all he could about the great wizards and witches of Durmstrang, and he knew Voldemort would have felt a kinship with the powerful Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, who had a reputation of a darker Merlin in that part of Europe, and was a brilliant astronomer and arithmancer of his time, and a leader and teacher who united the Germanic wizards of the time through the school.

The bell was supposed to be a sort of nexus of power and once rung, it would be heard by every witch and wizard who had ever studied under its iron weight. It was a call to arms, a cry of unification. Remus was only grateful that Karkaroff had yet to manage to use it to unite Durmstrang under Voldemort's dominion. It was what made the school powerful, despite--or because of--its single founder and smaller number of students.

Remus snuck through the hallways, dodging students and traps almost absent-mindedly as he tried to find the staircase that would lead to the bell. Would he have to ring it? Remus shuddered, remembering the description in the book he had read about anyone who dared to ring the bell without great need, or sufficient worth. He hoped the horcrux was not the bell itself, and merely hidden within or around it.

Before he reached the tower, however, a door slammed opened in the hallway, and a man with dark eyes and beard walked out straight into Remus.

"You!" The man exclaimed, hand immediately going to his wand. It was Igor Karkaroff, the Dark Arts instructor of Durmstrang, and one of Voldemort's most trusted men.

Remus let the glamour fall from his face, wand already in his hand. He should have known the glamour would not fool this man, who had the reputation as one of the best wizards in Northern Europe, and one of the most paranoid.

The two circled around each other warily, every sense attuned.

Harry did not bother straightening the house. He tried to move his mother into her room, but even without saying anything, Lily instinctively fought his magic. The hair on his arms and the back of his neck stood up in the wake of his mother's wandless magic. He had never known her capable of this. And it added to his terror, until it was all that he could do to move towards her and touch her.

"Mum, come on," Harry cajoled, "Everything's going to be alright. You just need to rest a bit, ok?" He made sure his voice was low and soothing, as if speaking to a beast that has gone mad.

But Lily did not budge.

Ellis walked in a couple of minutes later, his dark red hair sticking up in points. He rubbed his eyes for a second. "Harry? Is mum ok?"

Before Harry could answer, a whirlwind of magic swept everything away in the house, destroying several of the paper screens, and whipping up the already scattered objects into a frenzy of power.

Harry immediately grabbed his brother and pushed him towards his room. "Stay there," he screamed soundlessly into Ellis' pale face, before he shoved the door close and locked it with the most powerful charm he knew.

Then he ran back to his mother, and physically dragged her into a corner. Lily was finally reacting, but her movements were sluggish and uncertain.

When the wind died down, a robed man stood in the doorway. Harry grabbed his kendo stave scattered on the floor. The blunt-edged sword made of bound bamboo had flown from its case. It was the only weapon Harry could reach. His wand lay in his pocket, forgotten for the moment.

The boy's stance was open and ready, his knees slightly bent. The stave was held in the first position, its point extended in front. But the robed man ignored him completely, and spoke instead to Lily, who was trying to haul herself up by holding on to the wall.

"So this is where you have been hiding from me, Lily Potter." The man's voice was sibilant, and to Harry's ear, there were undertones of hatred in the softly-spoken words.

"Voldemort," Lily said, her hands shaking, but her green eyes were steady and almost glowing with equal rage.

Harry stepped back instinctively upon hearing the man's name. His parents had told him all about this wizard, and he grew up listening to the accounts of his evil deeds and despicable exploits. _This_ was Lord Voldemort? The greatest Dark Lord in this century?

"So you have found out my secrets," Voldemort hissed, his words blending into parseltongue until Lily could barely understand him. "But you will pay dearly for them. You will pay with everything you have, Lily Potter!"

And he pointed his wand straight at Harry. "_Avada_--"

Lily shouted wordlessly and with a final burst of wandless magic, she somehow flew several feel away in the space of a second, straight into the path of the green blast.

"--_Kedavra_!"

Harry could not move. He stared down at his mother's bloodless corpse, the bamboo stave in his hand lowered and forgotten. Tears were flowing from his face, but he never felt them. A moment later, he was shaken from his stupor by the laughter.

The Dark Lord was laughing. The hood of his cloak had fallen, and Harry could see the features of the man beneath it; his head was smooth, but his skin was somehow iridiscent, like the scales of a snake when light hit upon it. His lips were pale, his eyes red. They looked straight into Harry's eyes, as if in challenge.

Without thinking about anything, the nine-year old had raised the stave in his right hand. And, shouting an eerie battle cry like the enraged scream of a wild tiger on the rampage, Harry Jahan Potter charged.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

Chapter 10

"I never did anything worth doing by accident,

nor did any of my inventions come by accident;

they came by work."

- Thomas Edison

Remus Lupin was known as a good duellist, but he was by no means the best. In school, aware of his own capabilities as a werewolf, he had tried to downplay his quick reflexes and heightened senses by deliberately losing a few matches, especially to his friends Sirius and James. He had gotten used to slowing down, to moving a couple of seconds after he could have moved.

But now, Remus found himself calling upon his long-repressed abilities, as he shot curse after curse, and dodged the multi-colored blasts Karkaroff fired at him at lightning speed.

They circled each other as best they could in the corridor at Durmstrang. Remus took a precious second to wipe the sweat from his face. In that moment, Karkaroff fired off a rope of fire that surrounded Remus' hand like a lasso, making him drop his wand, gasping at the pain.

The expression of Karkaroff's face was triumphant, but Remus did not let him enjoy it. He jumped towards the other man and slammed his head against the wall. Once, then twice, Remus let out the full force of his strength, until Karkaroff's eyes rolled back, and he lay limp on the floor.

It was a miracle nobody else interrupted their fight. It only lasted a few minutes, but for Remus, it was as if hours had passed. The two of them did not even exchange a word beyond the spells they had casted.

He dragged Karkaroff's unconscious body inside an empty bathroom stall, conjuring ropes to bind and gag him. Then with a quick look around, Remus continued up the stairs of the bell tower.

His footsteps echoed on the stone steps as he walked up and up, until his lungs felt like they would burst. He stopped short just as the bell came into view. It was about a whole foot taller than his height, and hung from the top by cables as thick as Remus' neck. The rope that hung from its center was as thick as his arm.

Remus did not bother to try and catch it. Instead, with trembling fingers, he touched the inscriptions on the sides of the bell. There were stars and moons, ancient germanic phrases, a line of sculpted creatures that had claws and wings, breathed fire and had long forked tails that looped around themselves. Remus moved slowly around the lip of the bell, tracing each image, until his fingers stopped of their own volition. Facing straight into the north, was a jewel the size of a single eye.

The jewel gleamed even without the setting sun's rays. It was colored green, a little like Lily's eyes, but glowing with an inner fire that defied description. Remus felt it throb to the beat of his own heart. Beneath his shirt, the jewel on a cord around his neck also throbbed in time.

_It's beautiful. How could one ever destroy such a thing? _It took a second for Remus to recognize the thought as alien, belonging to someone else. _It's too powerful, too perfect to destroy. Maybe it can be studied. Maybe it can be tamed._ Remus shook his head as if to clear it. There was something in the air; it made him dizzy and weak, like just before the rise of the full moon. He felt his heart beat faster side by side with the jewel on the bell, and the jewel around his neck. _Imagine the wonders it can do_. _It might even be able to heal you._

"No!" Remus shouted out loud, his voice echoing around the tower. "You've made too many promises you have broken, Voldemort." And he plucked it from its iron setting and ground it against the wall with the palm of his hand, half force, half pure magic, until it trickled through his fingers, dust the color of the _Avada Kedavra_.

Remus panted as he wiped his hand. But the throbbing had not stopped. Not until he pulled out the diamond he wore on a cord around his neck. It was the centerpiece on the cross that the French Aurors delivered to him. He ripped it from its warded cord and dropped it on the floor. He transfigured his wand into a diamond-tipped mallet, before he pounded it again and again until the green dust was mixed with the white, which the northern wind blew away into the rock and sea. Again and again he pounded, until the throbbing died down into silence.

He burst out in hysterical laughter, his throat constricting with relief.

It was finally done.

Harry Potter could barely feel his fingertips. But he felt something from inside him surge down his arms into the bamboo stave he was carrying.

Voldemort was still laughing, and he did not even stop as Harry Potter drove the sharp point of the sword straight into him. He sidestepped at the last microsecond and it entered his right shoulder. The bamboo had turned into steel and was coated by crimson where it had pierced through Voldemort's flesh.

The Dark Lord flung Harry away with a single blow. He wrenched the sword from his shoulder with a grimace before throwing it away, the steel turning back to bamboo as it shattered against the wall.

'So you do bleed, Voldemort,' Harry's words were steady, his stormy eyes taunting as he stood up. 'You're human after all.' He barely noticed that he was speaking in parseltongue.

For the first time, the Dark Lord looked uncertain. Then he recovered his composure and moved forward. 'And my _worthiest enemy_ is a child,' he replied, sarcasm mingling with the language of the snakes. 'So it is true, that the Slytherin line continues to live on. A pity, boy, that it will die with the both of us.'

Voldemort raised his right arm, and deliberately pointed his wand at Harry's forehead. _'Avada Kedavra!'_

The curse in parseltongue sent a shiver through Harry's shoulders. The blast that left the Dark Lord's wand was much greener than the first he had cast. Harry closed his eyes, as the world around him trembled.

Voldemort laughed again. But he stopped in the middle, when Harry continued to stand. The nine year old opened his eyes, and they glowed as green as the curse he had received. Where the curse had hit, there was a jagged wound shaped like a lightning bolt. Blood trickled slowly from it.

'My turn,' Harry whispered before changing into his animagus form. He was a tiger full-grown this time, his fur striped orange and black, his eyes the same glowing green. On the tiger's forehead was the same zigzag wound.

Before Voldemort could react further, Harry had jumped upon him, and they spent several minutes fighting, arm against paw. Voldemort tried to spell the tiger away from him, at least enough to point his wand at it. But Harry jumped back again and again, batting the wand with his paw, clawing at his enemy's arms and face.

Finally, while Voldemort reached for his wand several feet away, Harry dove for the open neck, and with his sharp fangs, tore the Dark Lord's throat out. The dying man let out a gurgle, before his heart ceased to beat.

Covered in blood both his and Voldemort's, the tiger withdrew from the corpse and slowly transformed back into Harry Jahan Potter.

Done. It was done.


	11. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

Epilogue

"War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity;

it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families."

- Martin Luther

Harry Jahan and Ellis Kurama Potter looked sober in black at the ceremony several months later. Many other witches and wizards wore black. They were celebrating the Fall of Voldemort with mixed feelings. The apologetic Ministry of Magic had awarded medals to the many heroes of the war that had lasted more or less twenty years. The members of the Order of the Phoenix were all awarded.

Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy were exonerated completely, and awarded the Order of Merlin first class. The Dark Mark from their arms had disappeared after the last piece of Voldemort was destroyed.

Remus Lupin also received the same award. And in his honor, concessions were given to the group of the werewolves on the condition that the Wolfsbane potion be taken regularly each full moon.

Igor Karkaroff had turned in several of the missing Death Eaters to save his own skin; he never saw the insides of a cell in Azkaban and within a few years became the Headmaster of Durmstrang.

Several Death Eaters were still at large, including Peter Pettigrew, whom Lucius finally revealed to be a traitor. Sirius Black had vowed to see his former friend's death.

From the other side of the room, Albus Dumbledore looked at the two young boys sadly. Even now, the words to the prophecy still ring in his ears.

Twice came the peal of the trumpet

Twice came the ring of the bell

Twice cried the hart in the darkness

That the phoenix fought to quell

When the seven vessels are broken

By the snake and the wolf dispelled

Shattered by mother, shattered by child

Twice came the ring of the bell

And Nirvana to the darkness dwelled

They had won, but it didn't feel like it. Too many people have died, too many children would never see adulthood, or would grow never to know their parents. Like Harry and Ellis.

Harry looked much too old to be nearly ten years old. He would be going away to school in a year, but he refused to leave his little brother alone. Albus understood and has yet to decide where the two boys will stay. At the moment they were at Hogwarts, where the two had arrived by portkey with their mother's corpse.

They needed something more permanent. He considered Lily's muggle family briefly, but knew they would not be happy there. And the two boys deserved happiness after all they had been through.

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had both expressed their interest in adopting the two. But Albus was reluctant to leave them in the care of a werewolf. No matter how responsible he was, Remus would still have to leave the boys during the full moon. And no matter how many concessions the Ministry made, it was still going to be a long time before the people could accept werewolves completely.

As for the Auror, Albus did not think Harry and Ellis needed any further reminders of Dark Wizards. And Sirius was not really equipped to deal with the two boys; he was still a kid himself. Lastly, the two Marauders both lived too far away. Harry would never consent.

_Perhaps someone much closer._ Albus looked at the dour potions master sitting beside Lucius Malfoy. Severus Snape also looked older than his twenty-six years. The years of service as a spy had taken their toll. But Albus trusted him among all others to take his responsibilities seriously. And he would not treat Harry any different despite the jagged scar on the boy's forehead. _Yes, Severus will do well as a father_. Albus rubbed his hands in anticipation. Now he would only need to find a way to break it to the young man.

Finite.

* * *

A/N: There _will_ be a sequel. As to when it will be written? I have no idea. 


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